1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to pharmacogenomics. More particularly, the disclosure relates to selecting a suitable chemotherapy for a patient suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on the patient's GALNT14 genotypes.
2. Description of Related Art
Worldwide, HCC ranks as the fifth most common solid malignant tumor and the third leading cause of cancer death. If diagnosed in its early stage, HCC can be treated by surgical resection or nonsurgical ablation procedures; albeit a high recurrent rate of approximately 70% remains. Liver transplantation, which results in the complete removal of tumor cells and replacement of cirrhotic liver tissues, is the best therapeutic modality for eligible patients. Yet, for patients with unresectable HCC, standard therapy has not been established. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is an effective palliative treatment that prolongs survival time in HCC patients without main portal vein occlusion or extra hepatic metastasis. However, for patients who had developed extra hepatic metastasis or had poor liver functions, systemic chemotherapy remains an option.
Chemotherapies using a single agent are not effective in treating advanced HCC. Prior research demonstrated that, among various tested single agents, only doxorubicin achieved a response rate of 32%. Thus, in some clinical trials, several combination formulae have been devised to investigate their efficacies in treating advanced HCC. Among these regimens, only three combination formulae achieved a higher response rate. These three regimens include, combination of epirubicin and etoposide (response rate: 39%); combination of cisplatin, doxorubicin, 5-flurouracil (5-FU), and α-interferon (response rate: 26%); and combination of 5-FU, mitoxantrone, and cisplatin (FMP, response rate: 27%). Despite having a substantial response rate, profound side effects occurred in almost all systemic chemotherapeutic agents, hindering their clinical uses in far advanced HCC. Moreover, the prognosis of these combination formulae is poor; for example, the survival time of the FMP treatment is less than 1 year. Furthermore, these treatments manifest a high degree of variability in the responses of individual patients. Hence, patients and doctors are confronted with a tough situation when choosing a treatment.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need in the art a means for selecting a suitable combinational chemotherapy for a HCC patient so that suitable therapeutic regimen may be administered to the patient.